Italy’s Mirai Robotics raises $4.2M to build autonomous vessels for the ‘blue economy’

A Puglia-based startup founded by the man behind aircraft maker Blackshape has closed a pre-seed round to build software-defined ships and maritime AI. The ocean, it argues, is the last major physical environment not yet governed by software.

Mirai Robotics, a startup headquartered in Puglia, southern Italy, wants to change that. The company has closed a €3.9 million (~$4.2M) pre-seed round to develop autonomous surface vessels and a maritime intelligence platform designed to operate continuously, without a crew, across inshore and offshore environments.

The round was led by Primo Ventures, Techshop, and 40Jemz Ventures, with participation from Italian and international angel investors.

Primo Ventures, whose Chairman and General Partner Gianluca Dettori commented on the deal, is an Italian early-stage VC firm managing around €438 million across digital, space, healthcare, and climate technology funds. It is among Italy’s most active seed-stage investors.

What Mirai is building

At the ...